Shelter

Seems to be the same, yeah! I was so excited to hear it, that I didn't even realized that it was at first. Unlike last time around though, this time I was able to listen more in depth, and I really enjoy MC doing these things! So much fun, such a cool guy!

Wow! Just dropped my jaw here.. That is so cool!! Really, really jealous! Never heard RT before, although of course I've heard a lot about them, with Stan's background and all.. And now this, with or without the past, right here and now these guys are so much fun and sounds so good! Thank you so much for posting that video, Marion! Best and happiest surprise I've had in while. Really hope they keep on playing and that there will be more shows, recordings, to enjoy! And it seems like a fun venue too! Did I say I was jealous..??

^something's cooking, alright..

Always such a pleasure! Another great Mike "exactly what the song needs" Campbell interview. Thanks for posting, nurk!

here's two really new ones, that sounds really great.. nice sticky guitars, lush arrangements! the album isn't even out yet and these things show up..

^Wow.. those are really cool! Myself, I found this when browsing through a stack of old magazines the other day. it's from a Mojo Magazine special on Highway Companion in 2006.

As for Kiss My Amps II. Largely went hype-less, did it? Perhaps no wonder, since the material's been out a long time. Still.. considering what it is, I'm surprised it's not a major subject in record loving circles in general, and TP record loving circles in particular. Perhaps it will be, when it finally goes out of stock... Considering what it is, I said. So, what is it then? Well, this record’s been on the table for all week. (Turntable, make no mistake!) And I think I need to praise it a bit more, here and now.. It's just an exceptional release, this. Like we all know - since the 2013 tour in general and the Fonda/Beacon nights in particular, and especially since the HCC bundle this album is reprising - this is some hard to beat sh*t, a real kicker of a track collection by our fav band. But, further, it is really a great thing they decided to put it out in full sound like this, in full format as it were, on vinyl. Great, great move - and for once a great thanks to the management for that one! In my book this now officially goes down – as I find it utterly hard to compare the admittedly fun, but somehow really soulless invention that is digital file bundles, to actual records – as the possibly best official live TP document to date. Sure, I have a clinical weak spot for the primitive, out-of-this-world greatness of Official Live ‘Leg, but that does hardly qualify as a live ALBUM as such, and neither does other absolute favorites like Take The Highway or Soundstage, the latter being videos. Now, this may suggest the only fair comparison is PUTP, KMA vol 1 (and hence the Mojo Tour edition), and not even the Live Anthology set, that covers everything, yet somehow, strangely, not that much, counts. And this may be so. Live albums traditionally haven't been this bands forte - strangely!!! - even if quite a few live VIDEOS/FILMS been out over the years! But still, even when all formats official live releases by TP&TH are taken into account, I’d still say KMAII is one of the two or three best ever, in any day of the week. Reasons for this being a combination of many things. Apart from the obvious – how it’s compiled from a few dates on the same tour, which kinda brings it together nicely and increases the intensity, making it a real live album in that sense (second best to an ultimate complete-show recording, to me) and the fact that the sound of the band at this stage of their career and the quality of the recording is absolutely top notch – I’d also like to mention, the track list. I’m over the moon with it! In the face of what usually goes on at your average TP show, you may say it's a tad misleading, untypical and whatever.. but whatever.. all the more wonderful, if so!! Sure, I personally would have been not only over the moon, but over the sun even, had TP picked something else than When a Kid Goes Bad. I love how that era is represented, but to my mind Goes Bad doesn’t go well enough.* Also, while reprising Rebels from the earlier live album PUTH is quite justifiable, since the versions are so very different, doing the same thing with So You Wanna Be A Rock’n’Roll Star is all the more doubtful, as I see it. Not only does it make for two duplicates on a ten song record, it’s also a version that to my mind doesn’t add nothing much to the 1985 take. OK, it’s fun that they brought the song back to the set in recent years, but perhaps.. a bit too much, eh? And this brings me to the conclusion here.. since what they tend to do with their sets.. stick to stuff, let it linger, on and on.. that’s exactly why this track list is so great. Not only is the record stacked with fantastic songs, fun and somewhat rare recordings to have, great sounding, glorious versions, it’s also great for what it’s not stacked with: that is, all the songs that already are always on almost all the live shows and releases. To have an album like this play out without the likes of I Won’t Back Down, Free Fallin’, Refugee, You Wreck Me, Runnin’ Down a Dream, Don’t Come Around Here No More, or even Mary Jane or American Girl, is such a rare and fresh treat! The total lack thereof, is what hails this record the full nine yards to me. (If that is an actual expression..) What makes it legendary, even. Now, if only they would have piled on a few more songs and made it a double..!! ----- * (Ultimately Lost Children would have been fantastic in this surrounding, I think, but they didn’t play that in 2013 did they? So that's a bit much to ask then.. but, why not some other songs from roughly the same neighborhood, that were played in 2013 - like say Billy The Kid or Have Love Will Travel. Or just a general forgotten gem like Down South or Something Big?)

how's this for an unlikely, yet unbelievably great moment to think back to right now?

Oh.. sorrow.. again.. http://edition.cnn.com/2016/04/21/entertainment/prince-estate-death/index.html

Yeah, I figured as much. This being possibly my favorite TP album, I've been buying quite a few editions/prints of it over the years, trying to get the best possible tone out of it. I've reached decent levels with the US original print, that to me still sounds better than the original CD (that also sounds ok), but I've always felt this album, of all albums, deserves better. I've never gone Japan though on this one, and you're right.. I might have to.

@Marion: That is awesome, glad to hear it! And to see it! That's what you call a Trailer Park:ing lot?! I was wondering the same thing. I haven't got it myself at this point, but I heard from a close friend that his was indeed black too. Besides, I've said it elsewhere, but for a release like this - that is, a RSD 7" vinyl single, containing what will be standard album tracks, by a band like Mudcrutch - 5000 copies are not as limited as it may sound. Should be plenty to go around for everyone interested. This reminds me, the first time TP participated in RSD, it was with the color disc reissues of the Shelter albums if I'm not mistaken. Blue and white they were, and reportedly (even said so on them, right?) they were limited to 2.000 copies each. Now that, for a fairly big act like TPATH, starts to really feel like "lim ed" to me. But then again, soon there were rumors that this meant 2.000 US prints and 2.000 EU prints, so... who knows with these numbers.

mikeroeder, thanks for input, great insights! As for the first thing - this "loophole" seems to have been quite recently discovered though. Considering the boom of later years. I suppose broadcasts, at least from some angles and in certain cases are indeed "grey areas" legally.. I guess some people are happy that these labels have taken their chances to this generous extent lately, and that so many stores goes along with it without a worry.. I always feel bad myself about paying for something that was not authorized or benefits the original owner of intellectual property, or how the phrasing goes. As for the second thing - labels releasing various versions of stuff that is older than 50 years, or otherwise falls under the public domain - I'd say that my main problem with that is the bad taste and cheap reproduction style that more often than not are put into use, the general bungler stamp that usually are found all over such product, although there are great exceptions of how cultural heritage are passed on with great dignity and quality.* The third thing mentioned - more current recordings being pirated/counterfeited - is just plain wrong. If nothing new at all. If I start to charge people for copies I make from my record collection, I think I'm in waters beyond turbid. S/H charges are common among bootleg traders, as are s.c. charges for blanks (that is the cd-r or tape used), but again... if an actual recording exists, are still in print and available for purchase, then none private reproduction of such recordings are pirateering even if you hide your charges behind such labels. Beyond your own circle of friends, even giving away copies of stuff that can be bought, are borderline. Actually, by the book, I suppose any reproduction beyond your own use are a no-no. Either way - to semi-professionally produce and make money from someone else's copyright:ed material, more or less current and/or still in print, are abomination by all definitions. As far as all these three of things can be found in serious and official record stores these days (I have really mostly seen the first two myself, in all honesty) I suppose we should be glad we haven't seen the forth example for sale too.. the straight out unissued, unbroadcasted, sometimes fan made, bootleg recording, that is. I know there are stores for that, and I know there has been (and to an extent still is) a market for this.. but again.. we are talking serious professional music outlets with supposed conscience here. These "grey areas" are not always that grey, after all.. --- *Generally speaking, I am not in favor of the sometimes praised idea of renewed copyright being allowed eternally, being sold, transfered or desputed after the passing of the original holder. I think intellectual property belongs to a person - an artist, heir or a trustee - for life, or equivalent of a life. If that sounds woolly, I just mean that for other people to keep making money off your stuff for generations shouldn't be allowed. You should earn your money, invest it, spend it or pass it down to your kids and whatever anyway you want and that's it. I am a fan of the public domain concept, to put it like that. That said, I am sure it could be arranged and kept in better and more effective ways than it is. Other discussion.

Yeah, ouch. Online rogues always try to cash in on RSD, hu. I hope that deal really works out for you, though! Seems fair, since at least over here the in-store price for KMAII was (by my calculations) the modest equivalent of USD 17. Quite happily surprised by that. Very decent, all things considered. Btw.. hope the 7" works well with your jukebox there! Mhm.. still the biggest fish seem to swim untouched, in all walks of.. water..

Yes, I've been thinking the same a lot lately. And this seems to tie in with our previous discussion of My Father's Place being on Spotify. I was so convinced places like that were fairly rigid in terms of the legal stuff, that they didn't allow bootleg recordings streaming on an artist's page and so forth. Still they did. And do. And not many weeks after I noticed as much, I also noticed how more and more other, otherwise professional outlets (and it's been spreading ever since, both online and in actual record stores) seems perfectly happy to sell this handful of cool, well made, but rather suspicious looking TPATH vinyls (and cds, still..) made from recordings that up til very recently (at least 'til 2014, since all this seem to have sky rocketed sometime early 2015) were never seen or treated like anything other than bootlegs that the same stores would NOT sell. The most common titles, I've been seeing around: "Anything That's Rock'n'Roll" ( the title and date slips my mind for the moment.. but what's on there tells me I have it somewhere) "American Man" (in fact this is the same old Boston '78 broadcast/bootleg, known under various names in the past) "Breakdown" (in fact this is the same old Jacksonville '87 broadcast/bootleg) "D E Smith Activity Center" (same old broadcast/bootleg from '88, I'd say) "Southern Accents in The Sunshine State" (Seems to be recordings from the 1993 homecoming show/broadcast, I think?) "The New York Shuffle" (the My Father's Place bootleg previously discussed) "Torpedoes in Texas" (previous bootleg and broadcast from '79) "Transmission Impossible" (3CD set) (In fact a combination bootlegs from 70s, 80s, 90s.) In all honesty, similar things been brewing for a few years, especially on dvd a few suspicious titles been seen in otherwise serious stores' assortment. So, I'm not sure if this is just an insolent stretching of law and morals.. but the literal explosion of above titles, printed on nice enough vinyl, in the last year or two, seems to suggest that something HAS changed. One denominator of all titles mentioned is that none contains material from recent decades. Another denominator seems to be them all being FM broadcast. If this being the case is due to fact that these sounds better (obviously) than other bootlegs, or that there is something different about them from a legal point of view, I couldn't say. They all recently got moved into the "public domain" category, for some reason? They were owned by someone who sold the right to these semi-serious and sometimes frankly suspicious labels? I have no idea, but I would sure like to know, cause I have been wondering about this sudden change.

Yeah, my thoughts exactly. As far as FB goes.. I think that was a very gentleman way to say something that deserves to be said.

Fetched a copy first thing this morning. Didn't even have to punch anyone to get it. Listening to it right now, and mygod is this great to have on vinyl!! Possibly their best live issue to date. (But sorry, seemingly no download card, no.)

how about this then. replace the horns with some benmont magic. let mc cut it loose. and take it from there. somehow it's a bit down that jj cale road they like to go at times, and I really think it could work in all dimensions. a would-have-been classic and the best cover since Willin'?

Nice find, thanks!!

Great! SLQ, thanks for posting! That's a good shot too!

Yes. Agreed, guys! That is great! Take the Highway always holds a special place in my heart, too. Extra much so perhaps, since I actually did get to see a show on that tour with my own eyes. Certain moments of which will stay clear in my mind forever. My first ever TP live experience was this (not Essen, but same tour), but even if it wasn't my first, even if I rid all nostalgia off of it, it's such a shame that the film never saw a reissue, or a digital format at all. It's such a classic! So good! Perhaps a 40th Anniversary celebration reissue series later this year could include it and make that wrong right again?? Just an idea. PS. Yeah, that opening sequence was really, really cool! I remember being so in awe. And then it only gets better! (much unlike the Pack Up The Plantation VHS, that also has an incredible opening, with Ben backstage singing "The Old Man Down The Road" in Italian, but then goes on to become.. well.. Pack Up The Plantation.) Love the spirit of these guys - the A Bunch Of Videos... VSH is also packed full with these goofy fun intermissions. God bless their hearts and minds!

Suppose it is. Like I said, there are many good ones. Sound, performance, it's all good with these guys. Besides, like you say, it comes down to preference. I prefer the current era live sound over any of the others (with few honorary exceptions in a few early career shows). And you may like something else. It's all good, of course. But - just to be straight - what I also meant when I described what I often times feel is lacking a tad in older unofficial favorites (even broadcasts to some extent) by using the words "not quite the sound", was the recording rather than the performance or the arrangements of a certain era. You mention Minneapolis '99. And that is perfect example of my logic: bootlegs these days, at times sound better than an official release or a broadcast from back in the day. That is technically speaking. That is recordings these days, at least theoretically, can transmit the feeling of actually being there in a better way. And more of them do, I find, than used to be the case. This due not so much to digital recording per se, but to better on stage or off stage recording equipment, digital transmission and lossless duplication, bigger files and so on. This means that for me - who like the current live sound - it's bingo! Especially since they also been more generous with official releases in recent eras and hence I find no need to focus on my good sounding (not to mention the not so good sounding) bootlegs the way I used to. Also - to be even straighter - when I say Fillmore 97 is great but sounds less great, I don't mean that the band sounded bad, that the arrangements where dissatisfactory and so on. I just mean that their general live sound in those days was perhaps a bit thinner, a tiny tad less dynamic, less bass driven, less.. whatever.. let's say different, than it is today, but more importantly the recording of it is a lot less interesting than it would have been today, that we can experience in recordings from the Fonda or Beacon (the latest HCC bundle, even mp3s of the latter sounds good, and that speaks plenty, no?) I find this double pro development - at least in my universe - starting around the Olympic or Vic days in the early 2002/2003. That said - for all the good recordings that are available from the 80s or 90s, I am quite disappointed that we never got the chance to hear Howie hitting that high in harmony with TP, in next to full clarity we are experiencing today, the way we now get to hear Scott do. Not that the latter is not doing a fantastic job at it - just listen to Steppin' Stone!! - but the swinging, heavy, deep and down, mature sound of the somewhat aging band (sorry guys!) would perhaps have gained an extra dimension of depth, had HE still been around as well. Just a bonus thought. Icing on the sound cake if you will.

Yes, let's hope there is. Still, let's just keep in mind that most of the stuff that was said about this last time around really borders on disinformation.

Interesting! I can see that and I used to be like that myself. For the longest time I'd say I was very much in favor of radio shows and the occasional bootleg myself. (I mean no contest the Jacksonville 1987 is light years ahead of PUTP in my book) The main exceptions, to me, was Official Live 'Leg and Take The Highway - official releases that I instantly loved and always have. Then I was gradually turned on more to the official side of stuff when the game was up:ed by the band, in the early 2000s. To me, the watershed - somewhat ironically, since it was a radio broadcast too - has to be the Soundstage from 2005 (although recorded at the Vic, Chicago in 2003) that brought both a selection, a thickness and dynamics in sound then unsurpassed. Sure there previously was the song selection and performance of the Fillmore 1997 bootlegs (but then not quite the sound) and there was the sound of the shows you mention, among others (but then not quite the selection). And by all means, there's always been a few bootlegs that carries both an ok sound as well as being a document of a fantastic show - but the Soundstage, to me, took both those core aspects to a new level, and then with the two HCC file bundles (both later officially released) I must say some of those official recordings are hard to beat in general terms. To me the 'facts' that the band frankly is better, heavier and more dynamic somehow these days (and that sound tech is too), and that they have released more live stuff officially than they used to in the old days.. is quite a happy combination. I just hope they keep right at it..! No need to go to deep back into bootlegs (save perhaps for the rare track or version that they rarely play) as long as they have records like Kiss My Amps II out, and soon they do..

This is so fantastically awesome! Can't believe it's already three years ago though..? Whew.. time flies (and comes!)